Friday, June 27, 2014

Brittney Cason, the former Panthers cheerleader who held a variety of positions at CBS Radio in Charlotte, debuted this week as co-host on the morning show at the Las Vegas heritage rock radio station KOMP-FM. She is teamed with a DJ called Sparks, a Cleveland native, and their show is named for their initials, “BS in the Morning.”Cason says she didn’t know her co-host until they were introduced in Las Vegas. “It’s almost like a blind date,” she says. “We’re building our chemistry. We’ve hit it off.”

In addition to her radio jobs in Charlotte, Cason also served as co-host of NASCAR's "3 Wide Life" and was the "Paid to Party" columnist for the Charlotte Observer's CLT weekend section.Radio is more competitive in Las Vegas than Charlotte, Cason says. There are five Top 40 stations and she says all 12 of her car radio presets are full with a couple of good local stations missing. Las Vegas’ top-ranked station, she says, plays Christian music. “It’s sin city and a Christian station is No. 1.”

Friday, June 20, 2014

Fox Television Stations and the Charlotte Knights announced Friday that WMYT
(Channel 55) will carry the remaining Saturday Knights games this season
beginning this weekend.WMYT, which Fox acquired last year, will carry the stadium high-definition
video feed and audio of the radio broadcast with Matt Swieradand Mike Pacheco on the Knights Radio
Network.Saturday’s game with the ToldeoMud Hens will begin at 7 p.m. on Channel 55. Earlier, the Knights had talked to WCCB (Channel 18) about carrying the
games, but the two parties were unable to work out a package.Since moving from Fort Mill this year to the new BB&T Ballpark in uptown Charlotte,
the Knights have seen attendance surge, despite a 25-49 record that has the team
last in the southern division of the International League.

“Big crowds have packed BB&T Ballpark on Saturdays, and this gives the
entire Charlotte region a chance to enjoy the Knights from their comfort of
their homes,” said Dan Rajkowski,
chief operating officer of the Knights.

A veteran photographer for WBTV (Channel 3) was punched from behind while covering the search for a missing teacher on Druid Circle.Devin Futrelle, who joined Channel 3 in 2003, was working with reporter Pamela Escobar on a report Monday about Bianca Tanner, who moved to Druid Circle three weeks ago from Greensboro and was trying to find a job in Charlotte when she vanished.Futrelle was raising the transmission mast on a WBTV van and talking on his phone to the station when a group of about a half-dozen teenagers came up from behind. One punched him in the neck.“It was just, pow, and I thought, what was that?” said Futrelle, 32, who turned to see the teenagers running away. Paramedics took him to Mercy Hospital, where he was treated for a possible concussion. Futrelle said he had blurry vision for a time and his neck was still sore days later.It was the first time he’d ever been attacked on assignment, Futrelle said.“It was probably a couple kids playing the knockout game,” in which strangers are randomly attacked, said Dennis Milligan, WBTV’s news director.“It’s a little disheartening when these things happen because it’s stupid, and someone could have gotten hurt.”

Monday, June 16, 2014

Chris Kroeger, who started his career at WFNZ-AM (“Fan” 610) as an intern, took over the key afternoon drive-time personality Monday.“Prime Time with Chris Kroeger” replaced Marc James, who left the 3 to 7 p.m. shift last month to take a radio job at WFNZ’s sister station in Atlanta.Kroeger grew up in Charlotte and studied broadcasting at Appalachian State University in Boone where he covered the Mountaineers’ upset over Michigan and appeared weekly on WFNZ to discuss Appalachian football. For the last three years, Kroeger has anchored Pac-12, SEC, ACC, AAC & Big East coverage for the media firm IMG College.WFNZ operations manager D.J. Stout said Kroeger will work with rotating co-hosts each day, including writers, former athletes and team owners. On Monday, the Observer’s Tom Sorensen and Brendan Haywood of the Hornets were among those on the show.In mornings, WFNZ has also added “The Call Up with Colin and Nate,” 10 a.m. to noon, with Colin Hoggard, producer for the WFNZ “Mac Attack Morning Show,” and Nate Conley, executive producer of the midday show “Bustin’ Loose” with Frank Garcia and Mark Yarbro. It will be a call-in intensive show.